1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to structures for bipolar electrolytic cells and batteries and is pertinent to any primary batteries or other form of electrolytic cells which are water activated, use flowing electrolyte or both. Application would occur particularly in battery structures for high power uses in which a series or stack of plates, particularly a large number of bipolar plates having relatively narrow separations, is used with a flowing electrolyte. One specific application is in torpedo propulsion batteries which use a circulating electrolyte, e.g., seawater or an electrolyte from a reservoir.
2. Background Art
The U.S. patents to Mershon, U.S. Pat. No. 1,572,403; Lucas, U.S. Pat. No. 2,706,213; Haring, U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,587; Van Billiard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,012,087; and Shah, U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,474 represent background art in the field of circulating electrolyte batteries. Van Billiard discloses a seawater battery having electrolytic cells of magnesium and silver chloride wherein the battery pile structure, as shown in FIG. 2 of that patent, is made up of a series of plates each having a layer of magnesium and a layer of silver chloride separated by a sheet of silver foil. Contiguous plates are spaced apart by means of glass beads embedded into the silver chloride to permit free electrolyte flow between plates to constitute an electrolytic cell. Mershon and Lucas disclose primary cell systems in which an electrolyte is circulated continuously between closely stacked plates constituting the anode, cathode or both depending on the chemical nature of the particular electrolytic cell. Haring shows a battery (i.e., an assembled plurality of plates) structure suitable for use with a circulating electrolyte. Shah provides a primary cell battery having, in the terms of the abstract, "provision for uniformly distributing a desired concentration of the electrolyte for maximum power output" which includes flow control and directing means.
Additional information pertaining to an applicable class of cell is available in Chapter 7 (see FIG. 7.7, page 311) "Water Activated Batteries" by D. J. Doan in Volume II of "The Primary Battery," Cahoon and Heise, Editors, the Electro-mechanical Society, Inc., New York, Copyright 1976, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.